For Jasmine: The Day the ABUAD Alumni Family Showed Up

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A mother’s account of a daughter’s fight for life , and the community that refused to look away.

Some stories don’t arrive neatly. They come through phone screens, late-night reposts, and WhatsApp messages from people you barely know, strangers who saw a post about a little girl and chose to act.

This is Jasmine’s story. It is also, in many ways, yours, because it belongs to everyone in the ABUAD alumni community who played a part in keeping her alive.

Jasmine was born with a heart condition that her doctors in Nigeria spent months trying to diagnose. By the time her family had the full picture, they were facing a bill of ₦25 million, a flight that airlines kept refusing to board her on, and a daughter whose oxygen levels were dangerously low. The odds were not good.

But the ABUAD alumni network had already heard. And it showed up.

We sat down with Jasmine’s mother to hear the story, in her words, exactly as she lived it.

The Diagnosis

Q: When did you first know something was wrong?

The diagnosis came from birth. The doctors noticed a heart murmur almost immediately, so we’ve been following up from that very first moment. It was never a question of whether something was different, it was always a matter of figuring out what, and how serious.

Q: The diagnosis kept changing, can you walk us through that?

It was one of the most confusing and frightening parts of the whole journey. At first, the doctors said it was an ASD and VSD, two holes in the heart. They told us the ASD might close on its own, and at her six-month check-up, they confirmed it had. The VSD was small enough that they discontinued her medication. We were really happy about that news.

But then we relocated to another state and tried a different hospital. The new doctor came back with a completely different diagnosis, AVSD and pulmonary stenosis. I didn’t believe it. Why would a doctor give us a result so different from what we had before? So I went looking for a third opinion.

That third doctor confirmed a TOF – Tetralogy of Fallot. They enlisted us for a yearly heart surgery programme covered by their foundation at a discounted price. We saved up the money. We prepared. We went in for surgery.

And then upon evaluation, we got yet another result: Ebstein Anomaly. A combination of ASD, VSD, pulmonary stenosis, and a malfunctioning tricuspid valve. The doctors advised us to go to India because their team would be leaving Nigeria and wouldn’t be able to provide the aftercare she’d need. That’s when everything changed.

The Community that showed up

Q: How did the ABUAD alumni community come into this?

I want to be clear about something: I didn’t reach out to ABUAD myself. I reached out to people on my WhatsApp and Instagram through a post, and a lot of people reposted on their own pages. A friend of a friend, she’s an ABUAD alumna, saw the post and brought it to the community.

The support came before I even knew where it was coming from. That’s what made it so unexpected.

Q: What was your biggest challenge through all of this?

Honestly, raising ₦25 million felt impossible at first. But even as we worked toward that number, my biggest fear wasn’t the money. It was whether my daughter would survive even if we got there. It wasn’t looking good. There wasn’t much hope in what we were seeing. But I had to try. Even if there was only a 5% chance, I had to take it. I just wanted to keep her alive.

And then, after we finally had the money, we still couldn’t get her on a flight. Most airlines rejected her because her oxygen levels were too low. That was another wall we hadn’t expected. Getting her to India became its own battle.

“Even if there was only a 5% chance, I had to take it. I just wanted to keep her alive.”

Q: Did the ABUAD alumni support make a difference?

It made a huge impact. Before their intervention, we had raised ₦9 million naira. We wouldn’t have gone this far without the ABUAD alumni community. Not even close.

Jasmine’s Current Condition

Q: How is Jasmine doing today?

Jasmine is doing so well now. She will need another heart surgery in the next two to three years, but I am so happy she is alive.

She plays now. Her breathing has improved. She walks without getting exhausted the way she used to. She gets to play with other kids without feeling left out.

A Message to Other Parents

Q: What would you say to another parent going through something similar?

There is God, and there are good people. It might feel like the end but it’s not. Don’t stop trying. All hope is not lost, even when it feels like it. And once there is life, there is definitely hope somewhere.

Don’t give up on your child.

Q: Where did your strength come from in the hardest moments?

I honestly don’t know how God managed to help me through this situation. But I can say God gave me a good husband — a man who was willing to let everything he had go just to help his daughter live. God gave me amazing friends who helped and encouraged me throughout, even though I hadn’t told most of them how serious Jasmine’s condition was until it became really obvious.

When the contributions started coming in, I knew I had to stay strong. There was no other option.

Q: What does the ABUAD alumni community mean to you now?

I want to be honest. Before all of this, I wasn’t in any of the ABUAD alumni forums. I didn’t think I’d need them after graduation. I’d lost my old phone and SIM card, so the ABUAD connections I still had were mostly people I saw around me or classmates from secondary school.

But after what the ABUAD alumni did for me and my daughter, words fail me. I genuinely don’t know how to thank you all or show even half of the appreciation I carry in my heart.

“Words fail me. I genuinely don’t know how to thank you all or show even half of the appreciation I carry in my heart. This community means everything to me, to Jasmine, to my entire family. We are truly grateful.”

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A Note from the Newsletter

Jasmine’s story is not a finished story. She will need another surgery in the years ahead, and her family’s journey continues. But she is here. She is playing. She is breathing more freely than she ever has.

That is because people in this network chose to act, not because they knew her family personally, not because they were asked directly, but because someone reposted a story and someone else recognised a name and someone else reached into their pocket.

That is what this community is. Membership isn’t just a card. It’s the moment you decide to show up.